This Week at BMHS February 12-18, 2018

Congratulations to Class of 2019's Roshan Ravi. Roshan has earned a trip to the FIRST Robotics World Championships in St. Louis, Missouri to present his coding program. Roshan will be representing Team 4909, The Billerica Bionics.

The Billerica Blast

Dear Families and Friends of all BMHS students,

The countdown to the 19^th annual Billerica Blast has begun.  Established in tradition, each year new graduates fill the gyms of BMHS one last time for a fantastic night of fun.  The Blast provides graduates with an exciting and memorable celebration with classmates at a safe and secure location, off the roads on a night that can lead to carelessness or worse, tragedy.

The students arrive at the Blast not long after the graduation ceremony and are secured in the BMHS building for an overnight party they will never forget. Inside, the graduates are greeted with the school transformed into a mini fantasy land filled with activities that include: Music, Games, Prizes, and Raffles, tons of food, and lots and lots of fun!

The Blast is self-funded.  We rely on the community for help.  Generous donations from local businesses, the town community, and help from the school community is VITAL for the success of this event. We ask all the families of BMHS to contribute $20.18 (per family) to keep down the price of admission. Generous support from the families of BMHS are KEY to the success. Every student benefits from the Billerica Blast. It is a pay it forward event!

Here are some of the ways you can help:

• Financial Support: Send in your contribution of $20.18 ASAP (if every family contributes, the blast would be completely funded). 
• Donate a raffle prize: At least 1 in 3 students leave with a prize. We have a list of raffle prize ideas included with this letter. We will also post the flyer on our Facebook Page “Billerica Blast” (click follow and you will also get notifications of all Blast events).  Team up with someone and get creative and use your imagination.  Big or small we accept them all. Please let us know if you have any questions by emailing volunteerfortheblast@outlook.com
• Volunteer to Chaperone:  This event is not possible without dozens of community members and parents who volunteer their time to make sure the graduates have a safe and fun night. If you wish to volunteer for the event, please email volunteerfortheblast@outlook.com
• Volunteer to become a committee member. This position has become increasingly important as of this year.  The current board members have their last child graduating in the year 2020. In order for the Blast to continue past 2020, new committee members are needed.  Please don't let 2020 be the last Blast.  We are always looking to the school community for new ideas and now is the time to step up so the future graduates of BMHS can experience the same great time as the previous graduates.  If you would please consider joining the team, email volunteerfortheblast@outlook.com

To make this wonderful event even possible, we need to raise $13,000.  Your support is essential.  Please fill out the enclosed form and send it back with your donation.

Thank you for your support!

Patricia Faria                                                                 Thomas Murphy

Blast Committee Chair                                                 Principal

BMHS Athletic Association's 4th Annual Cornhole Classis

The BMHSAA will be hosting its annual cornhole tournament on Sunday, April 22 at the Billerica Elks. Each team is comprised of two members and the entry fee is $70 per team ($50 per team if entered by March 23rd). The tournament begins at 11 a.m. If you have any questions please email spglennon@comcast.net 

Class Fundraisers

The BMHS Travel Club is hosting a fundraiser at Buffalo Wild Wings on Monday, February 12 until 11 p.m. 

The sophomore class is hosting a fundraiser at both 99 restaurants on Tuesday from 5-9 p.m. Please bring the included attachment and provide it to your server.

BMHS Ski Club

The BMHS Ski Club wrapped up its first successful trip to Wachusett Mountain this past Thursday. They are planning two additional trips in early March. The Pats Peak trip will occur on Thursday, March 1 and the trip to Cannon Mountain will take place on Saturday, March 10. If you need additional information, please email Ms.LaRosa llarosa@billericak12.com or Mr. Shore bshore@billericak12.com

*From The Desk Of The BMHS Guidance Department*

On Tuesday, February 13, BMHS Guidance will host a College Planning Night for students and their families.  While this event is geared towards Junior students and their families, all students and families are welcome to attend and learn about the college search process.  College Planning Night will take place in the BMHS Lecture Hall, beginning at 6:30 p.m.  During College Planning Night, you will learn:

* How to research colleges through our Naviance program

*  What standardized tests your child may need for college, and how the colleges use these tests

*  What colleges look at when making acceptance decisions

*  Understanding college admissions standards

*  What goes into a college application

BMHS Guidance will hold our annual Scholarship Information Night on Thursday, February 15 at 6:30 PM in the BMHS Lecture Hall.  You’ll want to make a note of this important event in your calendar!  Billerica Dollars For Scholars will discuss the process of how to apply for their scholarships, and there will be a review and discussion about searching for scholarships in Naviance and on websites such as Fastweb. 

• What can you do to prepare for scholarship season?  Here are a few ideas: 
1. Log into Naviance and click the “Colleges” tab. Then, click on the “Scholarship List” link. Here you will see a list of scholarships. You can click into each scholarship to view the requirements and how to apply. This list is updated frequently, and will grow over the winter and early spring, so be sure to check back often!  
2. Search for scholarships online through search engines such as Fastweb.com, YourPlanForTheFuture.org, etc. The most important rule is this: Do not pay money to get money. It is free to apply for scholarships. If the scholarship asks you to pay money to enter your application, it is most likely a scam! Talk with your guidance counselor if you have any questions. MEFA (the Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority) runs the YourPlanForTheFuture.org website.  Have students log in to their YourPlanForTheFuture.org account and go to Paying for College>Search for Scholarships.  Here, students can search for scholarships that may be a fit for them by selecting specific criteria and then start building a list. Once a scholarship is added to the list, students will receive an alert when a deadline is approaching.
3. You can prepare your Billerica Dollars For Scholars profile BEFORE the seminar on 2/15/18. This is beneficial because once you’ve created your profile, you can focus on applying for scholarships when the portal opens in the late winter/early spring. If your child attended the BMHS College Boot Camp this summer, it is likely that they’ve already started their profile. If this is the case, your child will want to update the profile to include information from this school year. Your child will want to fill this profile out to the best of their ability so that the selection committee has a full picture of your child, their accomplishments, awards, etc. The Billerica Dollars For Scholars website is: http://billerica.dollarsforscholars.org

Senior students:  Please come down to the guidance office before or after school, during lunch, or during your study to fill out a flag with your plans for next year.  We will display your future plans on our Senior Decisions bulletin board.  Be proud of your plans and your next big step!

Junior Meetings to discuss post-secondary plans are starting soon.  Please note that Guidance will not be distributing paper passes for these meetings; instead, we are piloting a paperless pass system, in which a calendar invite will be sent directly to your school's Google email and Google calendar.  Students, please make sure to accept the invitation.  This lets your counselor know that you are going to attend the meeting. If you need to reschedule, please let your counselor know and we will reschedule your appointment.  The electronic invitation is your pass to come to Guidance, and you will need to show it to your teacher when you leave class.  We have been piloting this system in other areas of our work with students, and it has been successful.  Please watch for this calendar invite.  

Billerica Memorial High School’s 3rd Annual College Fair
SAVE THE DATE AND MARK YOUR CALENDAR!  The Billerica Memorial High School Guidance Department will be hosting our Third Annual College Fair on Wednesday, March 14 from 6:30-8:00 p.m., to be held in the BMHS Gymnasium.  This is a free opportunity and open to students in all grades.  We encourage students and their parents/guardians to come and explore the many opportunities available for college and post-secondary education!  Currently we have over 70 colleges and post-secondary opportunities committed to attending, and this list is growing daily.  We will share a list of attendees as we get closer to the event. In past years, this has been a tremendous event for our students and their families.  This is a night you won’t want to miss!  Also, join us for the College Panel, to be held immediately prior to the college fair. Please see details below!

^7th Annual College Panel
The Billerica Memorial High School Guidance Department will be hosting our 7^th annual College Panel on Wednesday, March 14 from 5:30 pm to 6:15 pm, immediately prior to the college fair.  This event is open to students and parents in all grades. The panelists are admissions representatives from four different colleges, and they will discuss universal tips and components needed for a successful college application, which includes:

· The importance of high school transcript

· How GPA is used in the admissions process

· The use of standardized testing (SAT, SAT subject tests, ACT)

· The importance of the college essay and letters of recommendation

· The significance of extracurricular activities

· Tips for application management 

As always, if you have any questions, please contact our office at 978-528-8760.